Reflection
by Nickolaidas
Summary: A completely reversed Dragon Ball Universe where characters like Frieza, Cold, Cooler, Dr Gero, Cell, Dabura, Boo, Crane and Tao PaiPai are great heroes, while characters like Goku, Vegeta, Gohan, Piccolo, Trunks, Krillin, Yamcha, Tien, Chiaotzu, Roshi and Bulma are lost souls who one by one are corrupted and become the greatest villains the universe has ever seen!
1. The Other Side

**Earth Date: Age 737, January 17th**

**Location: A rocky wasteland on Planet Plant (Homeworld of the Saiyan Race)**

The veteran warrior crouched and approached as stealthily as he could, observing his potential prey. A giant lizard which resembled a wingless dragon with an athletic build, red scales all over its body, its four muscled legs ending in large claws and its mouth filled with razor sharp teeth. This monster of an animal was called a Rankol and was considered one of the deadliest fauna on Planet Plant. But for a warrior like Raditz who had honed his skills as best as his age and mentors would allow, this was a manageable kill. And with the monster lazing off, he could end it with a well-placed and stealthy shot.

The Saiyan quietly pressed the button of his scouter and scanned the monster's power level. Enormous, but not something out of his league if he could keep his head clear and focus. He turned his head to his left and saw his father, Bardock, giving him a nod while slowly and quietly stepping out of his cover in order to attack.

Following his lead, Raditz slowly charged his left palm with ki, readying himself to fire an energy lance at the creature's skull and kill it instantly, as well as painlessly. As he got up however, his armor's left shoulder pad dropped a small chunk of rock which bounced on the large hollow stone the warrior was hiding from behind and alerted the beast to his presence.

The Rankol quickly turned its head and its eyes fell on the long haired Saiyan, then at his comrade who had also stepped out of hiding a few feet across. The beast stomped the earth with its feet and gave a loud, earth shuttering roar with such force that both warriors were forced to stumble a couple of steps back. "Curses," Raditz spat and threw his energy lance at the creature's head, realizing he lost a sure way to end this fight quickly.

The enormous beast's size belied its dexterity and quickly side stepped to evade the ki blast, sensing danger from the attack which closely resembled a thunderbolt. Releasing again a terrible roar, it charged the two Saiyans straight ahead, opening its jaws to bite the youngest of the Saiyans in half. Despite that, the lowborn fighter didn't lose his cool. Instead he launched himself to the air, charged the beast and kicked it in the jaw with such tremendous speed and force that caused it to halt its momentum and take two shaky steps to the right.

The monster immediately corrected itself and using its long and huge tail as a whip, slapped away Raditz who was still in the air after his attack. He let a grunt and crashed to the ground, without any major injuries, his pride being the only thing hurt at the moment. Bardock gave a concerned look over his son, despite being reasonably sure that his child would survive that hit. After all, a father's first concern is for his flesh and blood.

The next moment however he was upon the monster, letting out a loud snarl as he jumped to the air and punched the Rankol with all his strength in its forehead. The dragon-like animal yelled in pain as it backtracked a few steps, unable to comprehend how such a small creature could cause it so much pain. "_This is my chance_," Bardock thought to himself and started concentrating his ki to summon a similar ki lance like the one his son conjured. While the monster was still dazed, the older Saiyan warrior narrowed his eyes and focused his aim. Perfect, it had to be per -

His scouter beeped indicating two new threats, but before Bardock could snap out of his fix on his prey he got hurled into some rocks by a second Rankol's whip of its tail. With a third one approaching a few feet behind, Raditz was now completely surrounded. The younger Saiyan sighed. "_This is getting harder than we thought it would be_ ..." he thought to himself. Sparing a quick glare to his father, he took his battle stance and tried to estimate which beast would lash out first.

The monsters accommodated him in the form of the first one attempting to stomp him to the ground, the recent memory of its hurt jaw refraining it from biting its target. Raditz confidently dashed sideways to evade the colossal paw which passed right next to him and fired a ki blast aiming at the monster's stomach which managed to penetrate its thick hide and drew out gallons of blood. Despite the power of the attack though, Rankols were notorious for their resilience and stamina. Growling in pain, the monster fell to the ground, but immediately struggled to get up, unwilling to submit or yield to the pain, the thought of its meal too great to let it stop now.

Raditz's attack left him open to a counter from the other two wingless dragons. Before Raditz could turn around, he was crashed and pinned down by the third Rankol's paw, slowly squeezing and snuffing the breath and life out of the young warrior. He yelled in pain and cursed his recklessness in forgetting to watch his rear.

Bardock had just recovered from the attack and gazed upon the spectacle, his heart jumping at the thought of his son losing his life. He charged towards the monsters almost instinctively, letting out a loud scream that caused both animals to raise their heads, alerting them to his presence once more. But that was what he wanted - by turning their attention to him, Raditz would take the opportunity to escape. The two beasts readied their bodies and slightly opened their jaws, saliva dripping from their hungry mouths, while the Saiyan charged at them, still screaming. Closer and closer, he gathered a solid amount of ki in his right fist, readying his attack.

But the attack never came.

Instead, a loud thunderous noise was heard, and a solid green beam came down from the sky, piercing the third Rankol's skull from upper left ear to lower right jaw. The beast's eyes rolled over and the monster crashed down to the earth in a ground rumbling thud, finally releasing Raditz from its grapple. Both the second Rankol and Bardock looked up to the sky and saw a lone figure in the air, his hand stretched out and his palm open, still aiming at the spot the third animal was standing on just a few seconds ago. He was wearing the same kind of armor as the two Saiyans did, but it looked less primal and covered more of his skin. His features looked aquatic, though the creature seemed to have no problem breathing air or flying to the air. "Kiwi!" Bardock shouted in joy.

The Aquafast, who resembled a purple fish-headed alien with thick lips and scales all over his rubbery skin, turned to the Saiyan Warrior and smiled. "Sorry for butting in. It looked like you guys could use some assistance," he calmly stated, then his smile quickly frowned and called out a warning, while pointing behind the warrior. "Bardock ..."

The Saiyan, figuring that the beast would attack with either claw or teeth, quickly dashed sideways without even looking behind him, avoiding the animal's snapping of it jaws right where he stood a second ago, then hurriedly ran towards the animal performing a large ki dashed jump which promptly brought him on top of the Rankol's head. Kiwi crossed his arms, satisfied with his friend's handling of the situation so far, and his honest smile returned to his face. While the Saiyans weren't equal in strength with the Arcosians or most of the Adopted, it was always a pleasure seeing a Saiyan 'work'. The pathos. The focus. The raw, primal fighting spirit. He couldn't help but chuckle at their courage and ingenuity in taking an enemy down.

The Rankol began to swing its long neck left and right, trying to throw Bardock off balance, but the warrior had a firm hold of the beast's short horns protruding from its eyebrows. The monster's attempt to throw him away was an exercise in futility. The Saiyan narrowed his eyes and raised his right foot, charging it with all his strength. Letting a impossibly loud for a creature of his size growl, he dropped down his foot with such force the backlash transferred from the dragon's head to the bottom of his claws, giving a subtle tremble to the earth itself. The monster stood still for a couple of seconds, then fell to the ground, with Bardock jumping at the last minute and landing next to Raditz.

"Two down, one to go," he told his son excited. The long-haired warrior shook his head in denial, and pointed at the last surviving Rankol, which was bleeding to death, and slowly crawling away from the two fighters. Bardock couldn't help but see the sadness in Raditz eyes. "You want me to ... ?" he told his son and let the sentence hang in the air. The young warrior gestured no as he approached the dying beast. He gathered his ki in his hand and fired another energy lance, this time easily hitting the mark and piercing the monster's skull. The Rankol twitched for a second, then rolled to the side and let out its last breath.

The spiky haired warrior approached his son and touched him in the shoulder. "You did good."

"I got careless," Raditz replied, "I should've give it a quick, clean death instead of having it limping away in agony. I also got myself and you in danger by not thinking clearly, and reacting instead of acting."

"In your defence," Kiwi remarked as he landed and walked towards the heroes, "You were surrounded by three of those, and your father was unable to watch your back at that precise moment."

"Thanks for the save, Kiwi," Bardock turned to his Aquafast ally and humbly bowed his head a bit. "This battle may have gotten uglier if you hadn't shown up. If we knew there were two others nearby, we would've reconsidered this fight."

"I like to think that you two would've managed," the Officer smiled, "I just wanted to make sure you'd get some breathing room. What were you doing in the wastelands, anyway? Shouldn't you two be on board the Crystal Angel with BinBin?"

"Well ... to be honest," Bardock chuckled while placing his hand behind his head and gently tilting to his right, "I wanted to quick-kill a Rankol in order to take a bone pearl from its torso. I'd like to give it as a gift to BinBin for the birth of our second child. Raditz came to assist me, since he's about to have a brother ... or a sister." He giggled.

"Wha- That's it!?" Kiwi exclaimed in surprise. "You put yourselves in danger just for a gift?"

"The bone pearl is a long tradition among Saiyan Warriors," explained Raditz. "Male Saiyans who give one to their wives as they give birth is said to bring great fortune and health to the baby."

"The point still stands," the Aquafast emphasized, "what you did was pretty hazardous. Bardock, you shouldn't be encouraging Raditz to do such things ..."

"But Prince Frieza said we should be mindful of our customs and traditions," the older Saiyan argued respectfully.

"Yes, but not at the expense of your health or safety," countered the Adopted, "This is exactly why he advised you to stop the Day of Rain. And besides ... if you stall for Bone Pearls and whatnots, you may miss the big thing itself ..."

"What do you mean?" Raditz inquired while raising an eyebrow.

Kiwi lowered his head and sighed with a long smile, then looked at them, trying to make them guess. But his joy slowly gave him away.

"She's ... she's giving birth? RIGHT NOW?!" Bardock shouted, a stupid grin forming in his face. The purple alien nodded hastily and laughed.

"I'm ... I'M GONNA HAVE A BABY! MY WIFE'S HAVING OUR BABY!" all of them burst into laughter while forming a circle, then Raditz and Bardock hugged each other then the Aquafast. "We have to get back to the pods! Oh, man ... but the Pearl!" He stopped as the aquatic humanoid placed his hand on his shoulder.

"I'll take the Pearl from the Rankol," he assured the Saiyan, "You guys take my ship, it's faster than a Space Pod. I'll follow you shortly. Now go, the ship's right behind the cliffs over there."

The two Saiyans flared with energy and took off. "I owe you two now, Kiwi!" Bardock shouted as they trailed off. Kiwi smiled, then turned to the Rankol and rubbed his chin.

"On the torso, eh?" he said and rubbed his hands, about to get to work.

* * *

**Location: The Crystal Angel (Prince Frieza's Personal Battleship) in orbit around Planet Plant**

The Arcosian Prince calmly stood in front of his room's window, gazing upon the orange brown planet the Saiyans called home. Surveying the glowing orb as he did for the last few years of peace and tranquility. Despite his age, being over two hundred years old, Prince Frieza was barely a mature specimen of his race since Arcosians could live about a thousand years, give or take a century. He was of short stature even for a First-Form, and his pink ridged skin made a beautiful reflection on the shiny floor. He lowered his head and smiled.

When his father, King Cold, President of the Planet Charity Foundation, told him a decade ago that he was ready to join his beloved brother, Prince Cooler, in his Adoption Campaigns, the Arcosian was ecstatic and eager to help out. For thousands of years the Arcosians, one of the most powerful races in the Universe, had tasked themselves with the mission of helping those who couldn't help themselves, uplifting those who couldn't evolve by themselves, and protect those who couldn't fight for themselves. And last but not least, giving away uninhabitable planets the Arcosians had colonized to races that needed them. Races who were exiled by their homeworlds either by resource depletion, tyranny, or invaders. That was the Arcosian way, their tradition and heritage, and the young Prince, despite not yet having the power to transform and evolve into a more powerful specimen of his race, felt ready for the responsibility.

It was said that the forms Arcosians would take were based on genetic memories from the family's biological tree, for no Arcosian families looked alike. King Cold's family tree seemed to be comprised of a short First Form with a large bone helmet protecting their purple forehead orb and two black horns growing on the sides, their skin pink or purple with ridges on their arms and feet, and an albino face and neck with ridges on the edge of the cheeks.

Prince Cooler had recently managed to evolve himself into a Second Form, which looked a lot like the first one except that it was three feet taller, more muscular, the voice deepened and the horns would turn upwards, resembling those of a bull. Despite the accomplishment however, the Arcosian Prince would mostly appear on his First Form in order to conserve his energy and not waste it.

The King himself? He was witnessed turning into a Third Form which resembled a more primitive, almost animalistic Arcosian form, probably one of their oldest ancestors, the head would become elongated, resembling a bone skull shaped like a sausage, the face would extend to a muzzle and the nose would almost disappear, the voice would get thinner - almost reptilian - and the shoulders would stretch out to the point they would become pads. There were rumors that he would transform even more than that, but the humble King didn't want to admit such information even when hard pressed by his fairytale hungry children. The King would mostly walk around in his Second Form having abandoned the First one almost altogether - a fact which always made Cooler whisper to his brother that their father was so amazingly strong he probably had achieved a Fifth Form, which would explain how he considered staying on his Second Form an adequate energy reservation.

When Arcosians would find a race which had difficulty to evolve or survive, they would 'adopt' it, and lift it to greatness, either by giving them technology, helping them against tyrants and invaders, or teach them a moral code to help them understand the cosmos and the beauty of life. The Adopted race would come to view the Arcosian responsible for their upbringing as their 'Patron' and would often seek his guidance and counsel on various matters.

The first planet Frieza was informed by his scouts that needed help, the first species he 'adopted' was a race called ... the Saiyans, living on Planet Plant.

The Saiyans were a proud but primitive race of warriors who shared their planet with an evil and technologically superior race called the Tuffles. The sadistic humanoids would kill their far more primitive kin for sport, take them as slaves and work them to death and use them for cruel experiments. For a time it would seem that the Saiyans would become altogether extinct, but one of them rose from their ranks with great intelligence and great skill. This warrior, whose name was Vegeta, managed to organize the Saiyans, cluster them together and fight back the murderous oppression of the Tuffles. Despite their efforts however, the brave primates continued to lose ground, albeit at a much slower pace. But that was enough to make the difference. Enough to keep them alive until the Arcosian Royal found them.

Prince Frieza landed on Planet Plant and quickly allied himself with the Saiyan race. With his help, the tide of the war had turned. The Tuffles would come up with various schemes and technological monstrocities to destroy the Arcosian and his allies, but Prince Frieza and Vegeta would turn the tables and blow the plan of the sadists back into their faces. Facing defeat after defeat and the Saiyans having their troops constantly healed by Arcosian medicine and joined by other Adopted races, the Tuffles were forced to retreat, little by little, all the way to their Palace. Until a fateful day, on Age 730, where the Tuffles self-detonated their Palace to prevent the Arcosian Prince and his Saiyan allies from entering and forcing them to surrender. The Palace was blown to atoms, and the Tuffles vanished from the face of the planet.

Now the Saiyans could finally prosper. Frieza crowned Vegeta as the King of all Saiyans, uplifted them in technology, presented them with morals, ethic codes and principles, but also took great care to let them keep most of their traditions as long as they were harmless, in order not to lose their racial identity and ancestry. Them being the first race Frieza adopted had resulted in the Noble Alien to acquire quite a soft spot for them and was unwilling to leave their planet for a few years until he was sure they were ready to march on their own.

"Ah, beloved brother!" Prince Cooler greeted him as he entered the room, causing his younger brother to turn his head, his eyes opening wide in pleasant surprise.

"Cooler!" He shouted and hurriedly walked towards his sibling, prompting a hug from the Noble. After a few seconds, Frieza slightly pulled away with his hands touching his taller brother's, which were still on the young Arcosian's shoulders. "What are you doing here? I thought you were going to travel further inside the Corpol System! I haven't heard of your battleship - the Ice Needle - coming to this system. What brings you to the Crystal Angel?"

"*You* are!" his older brother remarked as he smiled to the short Noble.

"Father ... ! *He* sent you," Frieza finally realized. Cooler nodded.

"He told me that while you've performed exceptionally well with the Saiyan race, for the last few years you have been stalling and you are not making any plans for a next adoption," the oldest sibling honestly explained.

"It's not that ..." the pinkish alien fumbled, "It's ... " he sighed, "The Saiyans are not ready yet. I need more time until they are."

Cooler crossed his arms and smiled at the Arcosian. This was all too familiar. "Walk with me, brother," he said as he turned around. Frieza sighed and walked next to his brother as they exited the Prince's quarters and walked the corridors of the Crystal Angel.

The Crystal Angel was a huge battleship, a marvel of Arcosian technology. While the Cold family promoted peace, freedom and prosperity in the entire Universe, they knew that there was some evil tyrant to face, or slavers, or genocidal monstrosities and sometimes pure evil. So they trained themselves in warfare, espionage and guerrilla tactics ... anything which would help them liberate the oppressed and foil the wicked. They built themselves a powerful Starfleet with the aid of their Adopted races and formed a unique galactic family, intent on improving the lives of all sentient beings. And King Cold, as a gift to his Secondborn's first day as an Arcosian Liberator, gave him this powerful battleship which was more than capable to fight any ship in known space.

The ship's vast corridors almost gave it the impression that it was more like a beautiful city built in space, with glass plasma-proof windows showing the universe outside, plants decorating and providing pure oxygen, holographic images to give the illusion of sky and clouds to the operator who wished to make the crew less homesick, various recreation rooms, sparring halls, even a theatre in order for species to sing or perform - the Arcosians had an affinity for the arts.

The two brothers walked side by side along the corridors, greeted by soldiers and employees as they passed them by. Even though they both were in their First Form, Cooler was almost twice as tall as his younger brother, and not because of age difference. His brother was born with a low stature but made up for it through incredible potential, which is why their father entrusted him with the Mission two decades sooner than his Firstborn.

"Look, Frieza," Cooler intoned, "I understand. I know how you feel. When I Adopted my first race, the Brench, I too had difficulty letting them go ... I was attached to their troubles and kept thinking that if I left them ... I would fail them in a way. But in the end my hesitation only limited their potential, their ability to explore and discover the Universe on their own. And it's not like I don't visit them once in a while. I still learn of their troubles and their plights and thank the Gods for our technology, we have the means of visiting one of our planets in a short time if trouble is afoot."

His younger sibling stopped walking and lowered his head. Letting a sigh, he agreed. "I know my brother, I know. But ... it's not just my hesitation to let them go because I am attached to them. Don't get me wrong, I care about them, love them as if they were my brethren, but ... I have a gut feeling that ... something terrible is about to happen. I walked the landscape of the planet, walked alongside the Saiyan race and ... there is something amiss, especially in the last two years. Every time I walk on the ground, I feel like something sinister is lurking, waiting to pounce ... and I feel totally unprepared for it. Simply put, I'm afraid to leave the Saiyans because I think that they're in danger."

"That's just your Arcosian paternal instincts kicking in," Cooler countered, "if you'd let them be for a couple of months, you'd see that -" Frieza's handing him a piece of paper cut him off. "What's this?" the elder Noble wondered out loud.

"This is a translation of an ancient hieroglyphic text inscribed on a Saiyan cave northeast of where King Vegeta decided to build his Palace, 'FistForge'. I had an old Saiyan historian translate it. Read it, if you will."

Cooler cleared his throat. "When the moon of the Nine shines upon the black sky of our round sphere - orb - the Saiyans shall embrace the beast - animal - within and ... bring ruin to the world around ... I feel guilt - shame - for being a beast myself, but if this is the decision - verdict - of the Gods, then so be it - their will be done - ... " he lowered his hand holding the paper and looked at Frieza. "I don't get it. This ... ancient Saiyan prophecy says that his race are ... actually monsters?"

Frieza's eyes were overcame with lament and sorrow. "He says they're cursed." He let a sigh and looked at the window, staring into space. "My astrologists informed me that Zenpai, a small planet in the solar system of Planet Plant, is the furthest planet of all and takes about a thousand years to make a rotation around the Fol sun. There is a period when the Zenpai reaches Planet Plant and the sun's beams shower it in such a way it acts like a moon for the Saiyan planet. For just one night."

"And that night ... is the night that ... 'the moon of the Nine shines upon the black sky', as the prophecy claims," guessed Cooler.

"Saiyans live about 200 years and almost all their historical records were destroyed by the Tuffle incursions, so we have little evidence besides the prophecy. But until I am sure that nothing happens on the night Zenpai shines on Planet Plant ... I am not leaving my Saiyan brethren," emphasized Frieza.

His brother's eyes opened wide. "But ... how long until Zenpai shines upon the planet?"

The young Prince grimly looked at his older brother. "Two weeks."

* * *

**Location: Market in King's Passage (the biggest Saiyan City in Planet Plant, where King's Vegeta's Palace, FistForge, is located)**

King's Passage was the largest city in Planet Plant, built between two large mountains which served as walls to the west and east of the city. Fistforge, King Vegeta's palace was situated to the north, and the remaining surrounding area had a tall wall built to the south, concluding its borders.

Appule, a member of the Octoman race, one of the soldiers who volunteered to enlist in the Arcosian military, was walking the streets of the Saiyan Market in King's Passage. Having the day off, he had taken his Space Pod and landed on the planet, killing some time before returning to the ship orbiting Planet Plant. The Crystal Angel wasn't the ship he was assigned to, however. He was, first and foremost, under the command of King Cold, the President of the Planet Charity Foundation.

The King visited his secondborn aboard the Crystal Angel and for the past few days was trying to dissuade him from spending his time solely on Planet Plant, prompting him to finish his business with the Saiyan race and move forward to Adopt another species in need of help and upbringing. Appule was just one of the soldiers chosen by Gyunak, Cold's elite and best enforcer, to accompany him on this task. But since there was no action and fighting involved, Appule would spent most of his days lazing on the Crystal Angel or the Frozen Ark - Cold's own Battleship - or in this case, Planet Plant.

"Looking fer something?" a Saiyan merchant of vegetables asked the short purple humanoid, breaking him off from his thinking. His eyes locked on the delicacies the trader had in display and Appule, a vegetarian through and through, couldn't help but lick his lips and close his eyes in pure growing appetite.

"Mmm," he purred, "I think I'll have -"

"Help! Someone get the guards!" a Saiyan citizen screamed as he ran past the Octoman. The alien looked around and saw more civilians running away. He managed to grab hold of one who ran next to him and seemed to be less panicked than the others.

"Hold it - hold it!" Appule shouted and grabbed him by the shoulders, "What is going on? Why is everybody running?"

"Metal monsters appeared - out of nowhere! One minute the place was quiet and then, these things appeared and started shooting, lasers, plasma ... from their eyes, their hands ... ! Killing everyone! Lemme go, gotta tell the guards of the Royal Palace!" he shoved Appule aside and ran towards the Palace, which was fortunately not very far away.

The Adopted soldier laid his options. He may have been a soldier under the employ of the Colds, but he was a grunt and he knew it. He lacked the strength not only of the King and his sons, but the strength of their officers as well. If he would go to engage whatever it was which was causing the carnage, it was unlikely he would survive at all.

But that was besides the point. Innocents were in danger, and if he had to risk his life to help even one Saiyan escape ... he would take it. He ran towards the civilians who were running in the opposite direction, hoping to find the assailants.

And found them he did.

When he reached the southern part of the market, the stands were on fire, Saiyans were helping their brethren get up and run away while others were mercilessly shot by the invaders. The creatures resembled humanoids but their entire skin was covered in a metallic membrane, their facial features identical and almost obscured. They lacked noses and mouths, seemed to possess a single cyclopean eye covering most of the head, and two small horns protruding from where the ears should be. A shiny silver being their only color, with a few of them seeming to have a tint of neon green on their shell-like skins. Unusually fit-looking for robots, Appule quickly came to the conclusion the invaders may have once had living tissue and a living body. They looked more like androids rather than pure machines.

One of the assailants was finishing off the last of the Saiyan guards of the market and another was proceeding to kill a Saiyan mother who was shielding her toddler from the upcoming blow. That was all Appule needed to see. He stepped forward and shouted at the monsters, "In the Name of King Cold, cease and desist immediately!"

Three of the androids immediately turned and locked on to the new target, while five others began to close in on the brave soldier. Appule's left eye checked his scouter's readings. Twenty signatures with power levels way above his own. A frontal assault would be suicide, so the resourceful alien had to find another way to even the odds. Hoping that the creatures were not able to detect fighting energy, he fired a volley of blasts at the ground on the feet of the closest cyborgs. Heavy clouds of dust rose and pretty soon the surrounding area had quite limited visibility.

The Adopted Soldier took advantage of his opponents' loss of sight, and relied on his scouter to give him the exact position of the closest adversary. Locking on to his signature the Octoman charged the android and aimed at his head. But before he could fire, the cyborg charged him as well at an impossibly faster speed and kneed him in the stomach, crashing his armor and almost shattering his ribs. Appule screamed and gasped in pain and quickly fell to the ground. "_D-dammit_ ..." he thought to himself, "_They can detect energy as well ... I'm ... I'm done for .._."

He barely managed to raise his head and saw the obscured by the dust figure gathering ki in its open palm. His scouter warned him of the menace the cyborg represented but it was impossible for him to dash away due to his injury. He narrowed his eyes, clenched his fists and awaited the end.

One second before the android would fire, Appule's scouter gave another beep, signaling the arrival of another power level. Before he could even bother analyzing it, the cyborg was punched away at such speed it was literally hurled towards a rocky wall and crashed its body. The dust was still quite thick and the Adopter Soldier had no idea who his mysterious savor was.

The other androids quickly adapted to the new challenger and five of them charged at him in unison. As the dust cleared, Appule could finally see his rescuer. He was an impossibly tall blue humanoid, wearing PCO armor like the purple alien himself did. He recognized him - this was Burter, a Mutant, one of King Cold's higher-level officers, though not as strong as the Snow Pincers, King Cold's Elite Guard, led by Captain Gyunak.

"S-sir Burter?" Appule stuttered.

"Get to cover! I'll handle these guys!" the officer yelled as he was dodging their attacks. The Adopted Soldier was reluctant to admit it, but the blue Mutant was correct - this was a fight way out of his league. He decided to take the few remaining Saiyans away from the market, which was slowly turning into a battlefield.

* * *

One cyborg managed a punch at Burter which caused a chain of combos from the other four. An elbow hit in the back, a headbutt in the left part of his skull, a punch in the jaw ... the Adopted Officer was sent flying by a kick in the stomach, ending the combo. His scouter warned him of more hostiles approaching him. One of them would be easy to deal with, but a whole squadron of twenty of those things? He had his work cut out for him.

Which was why he was surprised to see the two androids who flew above him both getting knocked away - one by another PCO officer's double kick, and the other by a solid punch-in-the-jaw by a hulking Saiyan. Having the moment to correct himself, Burter checked out his two new allies: A short red-skinned Brench with long white hair and a large bald Saiyan with a moustache, who while incredibly large for a humanoid, was still shorter than Burter.

"Need some help there, mate?" the Brench smiled at the towering blue mutant. Burter smiled back at the officer - whoever he was, he seemed quite skilled, and his help would be greatly appreciated. The Saiyan himself clenched his fists as he witnessed the bodies of his brethren.

"You may look tough when you kill pedestrians and gang up on an officer, but let's see how tough you are when you face two officers and a Saiyan elite!" he charged his hand with yellow energy, crackling as if it was pure electricity, then hurled it like a grenade towards a cyborg, blasting it to atoms and forcing the others to dash to the sides, avoiding the hit.

The Brench charged at an android which was isolated from the rest and started attacking it with a flurry of punches and kicks. The monster managed to block the first hits but eventually had its guard penetrated by the crimson humanoid's persistent attacks and was getting pretty clobbered. Realizing he didn't have the time to play around, the officer lashed out both hands in front of the cyborg's head and fired a powerful bolt which completely vaporized its head and upper torso. The PCO officer spared a thought and found it curious that every time he would score a physical hit to the android, he would feel a slight jolt, as if his body was hit by a subtle electrical current. Nothing painful, but ... it felt weird.

Finally having the room to maneuver, Burter ran with inhuman speed towards two assailants and elbowed one in the sternum, hurling him towards the other and taking him with him as they both now hurled away to the south wall. The Blue mutant charged at them yet again, fast enough to catch up to them in the air and hammered them down to the ground, breaking them to pieces. As he hit them, he too wondered to himself about the feeling of an electrical current coursing through his body every time he would block a physical hit, or inflict one.

The rest of the androids dashed a few feet away and formed eight couples, surrounding the three heroes. Before any of the PCO officers or the Saiyan could react, all androids began to glow brighter and brighter, then each couple fused into one, more bulky and taller android.

"What the - ," the giant Saiyan snapped, "Did they ... did they just fused into bigger tin cans?"

"Not only that, mate," the Brench remarked cautiously, "It appears their power levels have climbed up as well."

"They are probably programmed to merge with each other when they encounter enemies more powerful than their individual counterparts," Burter hypothesized. "Now, why they didn't do it from the start, is a question good as any."

"Watch out, mates!" the red-skinned officer shouted, "Here they come again!"

The enhanced androids again split into three teams. Three of them charged Burter, three others charged the Brench, and the last two attacked the giant Saiyan who, after a quick power scan, seemed to have the lowest power level of the three heroes.

Appule had finished evacuating the Market and returned to see if he could do something to help the three defenders. He gulped when his scouter showed him the increased power levels of the remaining eight cyborgs. Those things' defenses were now all but impenetrable for the purple soldier and if he were to help, he would have to find another way.

Burter dashed backwards as his three foes were slowly but surely closing in on him. Realizing that he needed more space to maneuver, he decided to take the battle up to the air and launched himself upwards. His three featureless pursuers wasted no time and carried on their pursuit, this time blasting him with energy beams coming out of their metallic palms. The mutant shouted "Blue hurricane!" as he surrounded himself in a dark-blue aura and blurred in and out, literally phasing through the blasts. Finally appearing in front of one of the three metallic humanoids, he literally hammered its head by swinging both his blue fists onto each side of the creature's skull, as if he wanted to squash a mosquito. The android's eye socket began to drip some kind of dark liquid and the humanoid began to drop to the ground. The officer quickly turned a saw his two remaining opponents fusing yet again into a single, even more powerful creature.

The Brench fared no worse with his own three opponents. Dashing towards one of his attackers, one of them attempted to stop him dead in his tracks by firing a large sphere of concentrated energy. The crimson warrior did not falter however and stood his ground. He clenched his fists and hammered back the ball to his opponent, who wasn't expecting the officer to simply deflect his attack back at him. The power blast nuked him to pieces and the PCO defender observed his two remaining opponents merging as well.

The hulking Saiyan was the one who had the most difficulty keeping up with the PCO officers. While a powerful Saiyan in his own right, his fighting abilities were nowhere near the two heroes'. He did his best to keep up, but despite being faced with one enemy less, each metallic humanoid now seemed to be equal in power with him. Two of them however, were more than enough to make him gasp for breath.

"_Dammit ..._ ," he thought, "_I need an opening and I need it now_!" charging his fists with energy to increase the power of his attack, he double-fisted one of them in the jaw, dropping him off-balance. "NOW!" He yelled to himself and lashed both hands out, placing them on the torso of the second android and releasing a big bolt of ki. The creature got hurled backwards and his chest had metal burns all over it, but the robotic monstrosity was still operational and battle-ready.

Before the bald Saiyan could react, he felt the second machine grabbing him from behind, its arms like steel pincers locking themselves behind the hero's shoulders. He tried to struggle free but he would never make it in time. The cyborg which was hit in the sternum was about to blast him in a couple of seconds and he needed at least five to break free.

Before the android could execute his attack though, he was hit by multiple shots which came from behind. Turning around, he saw Appule firing at him with his shoulder blaster. He locked on to the soldier, stretched it palm open and began gathering energy, aiming at the Adopted Trooper.

That was all the time the huge Saiyan needed - with a Herculean effort, he broke free of the android's hold and hit it with a raw, roundhouse kick. Then, charging his fist with all his might, he performed a heavy swing which smashed its head clean off its torso. Without losing a second, he charged the other metallic henchman like a torpedo, hoping to stop it before he would blast away the Octoman.

But he wasn't fast enough. A giant beam of neon light burst through the cyborg's palm, going straight for the PCO Soldier. The purple alien closed his eyes and made a silent prayer as the blast created an explosion right where he stood. Enraged at his failure, the Saiyan opened his mouth impossibly wide and let out a growling scream, "KR-PAAAAA!" as a bold of lightning came out of his mouth and blew a hole inside his opponent's chest and belly, followed by an explosion of its remaining organs into nothingness.

"Sorry friend," the bald Saiyan lamented, "You risked your life for me, and I failed to repay the debt."

"Don't beat yourself ... too hard about it," a high-pitched croaky voice huffed. The Saiyan turned around, looked up in the air and saw a PCO officer who looked like a cross between a frog and a very short human with warts all over his head and two large eyes on the sides of his head, in addition to two in front of his face. Next to him was Appule, apparently just as surprised with the fact that he was alive as the Saiyan was. The frog-man seemed to be out of breath and slowly huffed in order to get some air back into his lungs.

"Guldo!" the Brench shouted at his ally as he punched away his single adversary, "Nice to know you're here, mate!" he blinked in surprise as he saw his opponent dashing towards Burter and the last remaining cyborg.

For the casual observer, Burter was now more or less evenly matched with his foe, but in reality the blue Mutant was just holding back, curious as to how he could feel his strength seeping out with each punch he landed on his enemy. The cyborg kicked him away with both legs then flew to the air and joined his comrade. Without hesitation they fused together into a single opponent, the last android, which was now almost as tall as Burter.

"Well, he's the last one," the Blue Mutant remarked as the red-skinned officer came to his aid, "Any ideas how to finish this quickly?"

"Well, I noticed you have an energy field rush attack ... " the Brench remarked, "the Blue Hurricane I heard you called it?" Burter nodded. "Well mate, I got ah little ol' technique like that myself ... the Red Magma. Let's try doing this together!"

Both officers smirked and enveloped themselves in their respectively-colored auras as they shouted their trademark attacks, and rushed their adversary. The machine held its ground processing it could withstand the hit. The earth rumbled as the three warriors clashed, but in the end, the android was hurled away.

"It's still alive!" the Saiyan shouted to warn them. The short frog man walked to his side, a confident smile on his face.

"Don't worry, he got this," Guldo assured him.

Another tall and huge warrior appeared on the spot the android would eventually land on, and while the cyborg was closing in, he clenched his fists and prepared his own attack. "ULTIMATE FIGHTING BOMBER!" he shouted and his entire body burst with ki that engulfed and vaporized the approaching machine, making the ground shake and smoke fill the air. All fighters approached the site of the explosion, as the red-haired hulk of man appeared unscathed.

"Hey Guldo," he casually greeted the short officer.

"Well, that's the end of them ..." Burter noted as he checked his scouter for any signatures outside their own. The scanner provided no results.

"What happened?" the Saiyan asked. "Where did those things come from? Where they invaders?"

"Doubt it," the Brench answered while rubbing his chin, "There are quite a few Arcosian ships orbiting the planet. If there was an invasion, we would know about it. These things came from this planet. Now, how they came to be ... is everyone's guess."

"I think it would be prudent to show a carcass to one of the scientists aboard the Crystal Angel," Appule suggested, "maybe those eggheads have a better clue than us grunts ... Not - not that anyone here besides me is a grunt," he quickly corrected, not wanting to insult any of his superiors.

"Not to worry Appule," Burter assured him, "No offence taken. By the way, who are you guys? You're all PCO officers, but you're probably assigned on different posts. I am Burter, an Officer in the service of King Cold, though I'm not part of his elite Battalion. This purple guy here is Appule, a soldier in his Majesty's service."

"My name's Jeice, mate," the Brench replied, "I'm an PCO officer in the service of Prince Cooler, part of his Elite Battalion alongside my second cousin, Salza."

"My name's Recoom," the red-haired giant smiled, "It rhymes with broom. I used to be in the employ of King Cold, but for the last five years I've been re-assigned to Prince Frieza's ship and serve him to the best of my ability. Same goes for our little time-stopping friend here, Guldo." The others opened their eyes wide in shock and looked at the frog-headed runt.

"Y-you can stop time?" the Saiyan gasped in surprise.

"Weeeell ... not really," replied the Officer, "my race, the Bas, possess a unique ability. When we deprive ourselves of oxygen, our bodies enter a ... unique state of agitation which enhances our reflexes to such an amazing degree that all other creatures and effects seem almost immobile. We can move and perform various actions as long as they don't include any breathing. Once we exhale, our reflexes return to their normal levels. That's how I saved our Octoman friend over here," he said gesturing at Appule, who hastily bowed in response, "I carried him away from the blast to make sure he wouldn't die."

"Wait ..." Recoom stuttered, "So you didn't really stop time all this ... er, time?"

Guldo sighed. "What do you think is more logical? Me holding my breath and time stopping for the entire universe, or holding my breath and acquire super speed?"

The rest laughed and Recoom scratched his head. "What about you?" he asked the Saiyan.

"Name's Nappa," answered the hulk while pointing at his chest with his thumb, "I am one of King Vegeta's best and most trusted warriors. When a Market guard came to our gates and informed us on what was happening, the King ordered me to come here and intercept the invaders. It's a good thing that you guys were here. I'm ... not sure I could've stopped them on my own."

"Hey, did anyone ... felt a jolt each time he would punch, kick or get punched and kicked by these monsters?" asked Jeice.

"Yeah, I sure did," offered Burter. "Probably some their circuits buzzing once they met physical contact. Although ... I kinda feel a lot more winded than I should after a quick fight like that."

"I think we should return to our ships and report to our superiors," Appule suggested.

The blue Mutant nodded. "Alright, let's grab the less damaged of the bodies and burn down the rest," he offered, "Me and Appule will go to Dr. Malaka and inform him of what transpired.

"Me and Guldo are going to report to King Cold," Recoom stated, "He will no doubt want to hear about this. Nappa, you should tell King Vegeta to join us on board the Crystal Angel. No doubt the two Kings will have much to talk about it, because of this."

"I agree. Thank you for your help, everyone," the bald Saiyan exclaimed as he brushed his moustache and flew towards the Palace.

"I'm gonna stay in the Market and burn the bodies," Jeice finally said, "also to make sure that they won't sprout out again without decent resistance. Looks like everyone's got their job mates, so let's get to it." Everyone nodded and Burter walked in front of him, offering a handshake.

"It was an honor fighting alongside you, Jeice," the Blue Mutant commented.

"Likewise, mate!" the Brench smiled and shook his hand, "Hope to see you for a drink once this settles down." The two warriors smiled, and went their separate ways.

END OF CHAPTER 01

* * *

Welcome to my new series, Reflection! Loyal readers of mine know me mostly through my First Ongoing series, The River of Fate. This is my second attempt at Fan Fiction where I'm doing a completely reversed Dragon Ball Universe - hope you like what you read so far. At the first 2-3 chapters there's going to be a focus on the Arcosians and their Adopted Allies, but pretty soon we're going to move to Earth ... an Earth completely different than anything you've ever seen on Dragon Ball Fan Fiction! Hope you stick around in this story and give me your feedback! It's of paramount importance to me!

* * *

**POWER LEVELS? SCREW THAT, MEET THE POWER TIERS!**

As I have stated in the past, I detest power levels, so I don't use them, but that doesn't mean I have no rules, concerning the characters' strength. So I use the rule of Power Tiers, which is basically strength groups to divide the characters in terms of strength and threat level. The power tiers are the following:

God Tier

Top Tier

Middle Tier

Low Tier

Weak Tier

Weakest Tier

In order to imagine the power difference, consider this: A Top Tier character will 99.9% defeat a Middle Tier character unless specific factors are involved (i.e. the Top Tier is heavily injured, taken by complete surprise, is incapable to defend himself, etc.), but not without the Middle Tier putting up a good show. A good example of how a Top Tier vs Middle Tier fight would go is the Tien vs Yamcha match on the 22nd Martial Arts Tournament.

Two Middle Tier characters working together will give a Top Tier a REALLY hard time, but they will most likely lose in the battle. Three Middle Tier characters may actually defeat the Top Tier character. Four Middle Tier chars and above will beat the Top Tier.

A Top Tier cannot be defeated by a Low Tier character, but he may be distracted enough by an attack so that a more powerful character can do real damage. At full strength, a Top Tier's attack can incapacitate, or even kill a Low Tier if he's unlucky enough. (Recoom vs Krillin on Namek)

A Top Tier character will mow through Weak Tier or Weakest Tier characters without any difficulty. Even if he's swarmed by them, they will most likely be blasted aside by a ki burst or something. (Vegeta vs Frieza's soldiers on Namek)

Weakest Tier is basically a character with a minimum power level in comparison to the others, yet still far more powerful than normal civilians and non combatants.

Now, two more things. First, Power Tiers are relative to each other. They work as 'ladder levels' in a way. A fight between a Top Tier character vs a Middle Tier character will likely be the same with a Low Tier character fighting a Weak Tier character, since the difference in Tier Levels for each fight is one ladder level.

Second, the Power Tiers are organized based on the majority of same-powered characters being "Middle Tier". For example, let's assume the only combatants of my story are Piccolo, Vegeta, Trunks, Goku and Frieza. All except Piccolo have all more or less the same power, thus, become the "Middle Tiers". Piccolo is a lot stronger than them, so he is labeled as "Top Tier". All of the gang, except Piccolo and Goku, decide to train. Vegeta, Trunks and Frieza reach Piccolo's power, and since they are the majority, Piccolo becomes "Middle Tier", along with the rest of them. And Goku, for not increasing his strength in relation with the others, becomes "Low Tier". Hope that explains my reasoning. Feel free to PM or include a question about this in your review!

* * *

**CURRENT TIERS:**

**God Tier**: King Cold (2nd Form)

**Top Tier**: Cooler (1st Form), Frieza (1st Form), Gyunak

**Middle Tier**: Frozenback, BuhRocol, Ginyu, Jovom, Salza, Neiz, Recoom, Dore, Burter, Jeice, Android Invader (Great Merge)

**Low Tier**: Zarbon (Base), Dodoria, Kiwi, King Vegeta, Queen Lahan, Android Invader (Merge)

**Weak Tier**: Nappa, Bardock, Raditz, BinBin, Android Invader (Base)

**Weakest Tier**: Hatchiyack (1%), Guldo, Appule

For those of you not aware of the River of Fate storyline, Gyunak, Frozenback, BuhRocol, and Jovom are King Cold's elite guard, the Snow Pincers. And yes, my OCs from the River of Fate will also appear on Reflection, albeit with a completely reversed alignment - except for the Un-Named, that character is solely tied to the River of Fate storyline.

Some of you power level fans will be undoubtedly put off by the fact that Kiwi is as strong as (base) Zarbon, while in canon he was not. That's because in my stories I want less power difference between most characters in order to make more interesting and less one-sided fights (although there are those here as well, albeit in less frequency).

* * *

Alright, that settles that! See you in Chapter 02 - A Legend is Born!


	2. A Legend is Born

**Earth Date: Age 737, January 17th**

**Location: The Crystal Angel, Malaka's Laboratory**

Several hours had passed since the encounter the Officers and Nappa had on the market. Malaka, a Vrock scientist, was finishing his examination of the android carcass Burter gave him a while ago. At his side was one of Prince Frieza's officers, Sir Zarbon, an Omorfolian who like most of the young Arcosian's officers, were re-assigned by King Cold. Eventually the Arcosian would rally his own troops the more planets he liberated, but for now he needed much help from his father in terms of staff.

"Well?" the handsome Omorfolian asked the Vrock. The short vulture-headed humanoid took off a helmet visor providing him with x-ray vision and turned to face the officer.

"No doubt about it," he said with concern in his voice, "It's of Tuffle origin."

"But that's impossible," Zarbon wondered while looking at the dissected carcass, "The Tuffles became extinct when they blew up their Palace. King Vegeta and Prince Frieza searched every nook and cranny on Planet Plant's surface for survivors, but they never found any ..."

The Vrock gently scratched his beak, trying to find a clue into all this. "... Did your friend Appule say how they appeared?"

The blue-skinned humanoid shrugged. "He said when he saw them in the Market there were already twenty of those things giving Hell to everyone there. He never saw how they appeared. I should consult the Prince about this."

"Well, the way I heard it, he's with *both* Kings now in his throne room, being briefed by some of the Officers who were present in the attack," Malaka remarked. "Let's hope they'll figure this out. I better report my findings as well. Want to join me?"

"Sure, I'll be happy to - eh?" Zarbon paused when all the lights went out. "... another one?"

"Yes, and we still have no idea how those power outages are occurring," the Vrock sighed, "It always lasts for ten seconds. I checked the power panels, but there seems to be nothing wrong with them - " he stopped for a second as the power returned, "Ah, here we are, online again. Tuffle androids, power outages, rumors of dark Saiyan prophecies ... something weird is going on."

"Never took you for a man who believes in prophecies," the Omorfolian jested.

"Ordinarily, I'm not," the vulture man humorlessly replied, "But when one cannot find rational explanations for things which are happening all around him ... he is beginning to wonder about Fate, religion ... the Gods themselves. But I'm rambling. Come, let us see the King and his family."

And with that, the two Planet Charity Organization employees walked out of the Laboratory.

* * *

**Location: The Throne Room in the Crystal Angel**

The large hall which was the main hub of the ship, was also the place were Prince Frieza would sit with his allies and discuss strategy, tactics, philosophy or even make small talk. With his father present, the young Arcosian wasn't sitting on the throne and instead had asked Cold to do the honors ... but there was no way that the elder King would undermine his son's authority in his own ship. So the throne remained empty, and everyone, King, Officers and soldiers alike were conversing like equals among each other.

Inside the room there were quite a number of people. The entire Arcosian family was present of course - King Cold, Prince Frieza and Cooler - as well as King Vegeta and his wife, Queen Lahan, their boy Prince Vegeta and one of their finest warriors, Nappa. On behalf of Cold were also Appule and Burter, while Jeice and Salza were accompanying the Arcosian Firstborn. Dodoria, the obese and kind-hearted Golorian was accompanying Frieza.

"So for now I've instructed several scout vehicles to scan the surrounding areas and report back to us wherever and whenever they happen to detect monstrocities like the ones who attacked the market," Nappa intoned. "So far there haven't been any sightings, and that's good at least."

"Good?" King Vegeta calmly argued, "I doubt it, old friend. The less clues we have to their whereabouts the worst. If we had some kind of base of operations or something else to go with, something to trace and fight into submission, it would a good sign that whatever threatened my people would never rise again. But seeing nothing, finding nothing ... only means that they're just as likely to reappear as quickly as the first time."

"At any rate," King Cold added, "My heartfelt congratulations to all you who managed to deal with this threat. I understand that you Burter and Appule as well as ... Jeice and Nappa, was it? Were among some of the ones who took the fight to these cyborgs and halted their advance."

Appule shook his head negatively. "No, Your Grace, it was your Officers who did all the work - I couldn't do anything against these creatures ..."

Nappa gave him a solid slap in the back, making him take a couple of steps forward. "Stop saying that crap - if it wasn't for you, I may have been toasted by that android! I owe you one Appule, and I won't forget it."

Cold nodded and addressed the Octoman as well. "Appule, he speaks the truth. You're a good soldier." The purple humanoid lowered his head, but said nothing.

"Is it possible that they possess some kind of cloning device?" Dodoria offered to change the subject, "Maybe that's why our Saiyan friends down there can't spot them?"

"It *is* possible, Dodoria," Frieza agreed, "And since we are dealing with a mostly mechanical group of enemies, high-tech seems right up their alley. I should ask Malak to bring you equipment who can hack such signals. Once he finishes autopsying one of the fallen, I shall instruct him to provide you with such." King Vegeta bowed at the offer.

"You're far too kind and helpful as always, my Prince and Patron." he emphasized. "With your help, we shall prevail this crisis, along all the previous ones."

Cold gently rubbed his lips at the comment. As he feared, Frieza's constant presence was beginning to make the Saiyans far too dependent on him. Like a good parent who knows when it is time for his child to go off on its own, Frieza should soon accept responsibility, as well as his Adopted ones, and go their separate ways. He was quite curious to hear what Cooler would have to say on the matter, but the two of them didn't have the opportunity to speak alone ever since the Arcosian Firstborn spoke with his sibling. He just wished that his brother had managed to talk some sense into him.

Suddenly the doors opened wide and Raditz appeared with an impossibly loud smile on his face, his arms stretched out as if he wanted to embrace someone, shouting "IT'S A BOOYYYYYYYYYYY!" making Nappa burst in laughter and run towards his comrade, laughing all the while. King Vegeta for his part smiled and looked upon King Cold whose eyes were wide open and had a surprised look on his face.

"BinBin," he explained, "the wife of one of my best soldiers, Bardock, has apparently just given birth." The news were enough to make the atmosphere of the entire room become quite merrier. Soon, everyone in the hall, including the two royal families, were congratulating Raditz for having a brother.

"Congratulations, Raditz, I wish all the best to your family," Frieza said while shaking the long haired Saiyan's hand with both of his.

"Thank you, thank you my Patron," Raditz smiled merrily, then went to shake King Vegeta's hand who basically said the same thing. And with Queen Lahan, and with King Cold ... and with everyone. While Raditz *was* a lowborn, his family had won the attention of King Vegeta and Prince Frieza through their battle prowess - Bardock himself as well as BinBin played a major role in the Tuffle Wars. Bardock's family had also become good friends with Nappa, Kiwi, Dodoria and Zarbon, since those four also were key players in making the Tuffles pay for their crimes against the Saiyan people.

Raditz finally addressed his King. "Your Grace, you would bring tremendous honor to my father if you would give your Wish of Blessing to my baby brother. As well as you would, my Queen," he said turning his head to Queen Lahan.

"Very well, Raditz, take us to the nursery room," smiled King Vegeta.

"Wait," prompted the younger Arcosian Prince, "Why don't we all go and give our blessings to the Saiyan child? The more the merrier, right father?" he said looking at Cold.

"Frieza ... " his father advised him, "We shouldn't impose ourselves on our Saiyan friends' customs ..."

"No, it's ... it's no imposing at all!" Raditz blurted out in shock and awe, "I didn't dare to ask you because I thought it would be improper but ... to think that my brother is going to get a Wish of Blessing from the entire Cold Family ... this is going to make my mother cry with joy, I swear it! Thank you, my Patron! Thank you!"

Cold sighed and smiled. "Very well, lead us to the nursery, soldier."

* * *

**Location: Underground Tuffle Hideout**

The dark, vast caverns were illuminated by technical green lights, embedded on the granite walls, the metallic plates on the floor and the high stalactites in the ceiling. Numerous Tuffle workers were constantly working all around the facility, giving an unholy image of life, resembling the Trolls of legend who would contantly toil deep below the surface of the Earth.

On the far end of the facility, a demented inventor called Dr Raichi was observing and tampering with his ultimate creation. The one who would take vengeance on both Arcosian do-gooders and their Saiyan protégés. The one who was supposed to be strong enough to crush any who would oppose the Tuffle race.

Hatchiyack.

One lab assistant approached the deformed bearded old man, who was inspecting the crimson robotic humanoid in evil glee. "Dr Raichi?" He said to gain his attention. "Our Cyborg Thralls have all been vanquished. Apparently the fusions were not enough to -" he was cut off by a slap from his master, making him fall on his ass, holding his mouth in shock.

The old man turned his back on him and continued working on his Crimson Messiah. "Do not tell me what I already know, Kastra. Of COURSE they would perish - they were never intended to destroy our enemies - merely to absorb their power and give Hatchiyack his first batch of energy. Check the readings - how much power does he acquired?"

"U-um," the assistant stuttered as he picked up his glasses, got up and checked the console next to him, "He's at ... 1% right now."

"One percent?" Raichi muttered to no one in particular. "This is horrendous ... I never should have let them loose on the Market - too many weaklings there apparently. I should have sent them straight to FistForge itself. Although ..." he lowered his head and thought to himself, "_chances are they could track us from there ..._"

"Still, even at one percent that's more than enough strength for him to start. And if our power outages on the Arcosian Battleship continue, we may have his reserves at two percent in the next couple of weeks. Can't risk anymore - they're bound to suspect ... But if I unleash him at two percent, that would be enough to start his reign of supremacy ..."

He walked in front of his creation and smirked. "You won't fail me, will you? My ... sweet angel of vengeance?"

The crimson colored abomination made no sound and made no movement, staring at the space.

* * *

**Location: Crystal Angel Nursery Chambers**

Bardock and BinBin opened their eyes wide in complete shock as they saw the number of people entering the nursery. They expected Raditz to come in with the King and the Queen, perhaps even Nappa, that honor would be tremendous ... but the Cold Family? And some of their best officers? They were getting a treatment fitting for Kings! Other Nobles may have been annoyed at the attention a lowborn family was getting, but King Vegeta was too much of a kind-hearted man and a good friend to the Bardock family to even think in such light. He was happy that a faithful soldier like the spiky haired Saiyan was getting an honor such as this.

Prince Vegeta himself was overwhelmed at all the attention, all the praise, all the commotion. A humble boy at heart, it was too much for him to see people open up so much. He had much to live up to and wanted to make his father proud, but when he saw the love and attention that Bardock's baby was getting, he couldn't help but think ... 'Will I be ever worthy of such love? Will I become just and strong like my father, like the warrior Bardock, that Kings and Queens will come and give me their blessings for my own child's birth?' He felt the burden of responsibility and he prayed to all the Saiyan Gods and Ancestors that he would make his father proud.

BinBin, Bardock's wife covered her mouth with her hands, narrowed her eyes, gasped and choked a tear at the touching gesture of her Rulers. She couldn't believe her baby was given so much attention ...

"Bardock," King Vegeta calmly declared and smiled.

"Sire," Bardock smiled and kneeled in front of his King. The bearded Saiyan quickly gestured him to get up and hugged him like a brother in arms. The spiky haired Saiyan responded in kind. Afterwards, he made a long bow to each of the Arcosians. "My Patron, Your Grace, Prince Cooler." He then turned to all the Officers, as well as Nappa and Appule. "Thank you, thank you all for coming, you honor us with your presence. This ... this is the happiest day of my life."

Raditz walked in front of him and Bardock took him in his arms, while choking a tear. "My son ..." he muttered as he tapped Raditz's back and rubbed it. Raditz opened his eyes, still hugging his father and stretched out to hold his mother's hand. She started to cry, unable to restrain herself. After a while the three family members and the rest of the guests focused their attention on the small infant comfortably sleeping on its mother's arms.

The baby looked exactly like Bardock, barring the age gap. Their hair were exactly the same. Its little eyes were closed, its tiny chest rising and lowering at every few seconds. And small drop of saliva was coming out of his mouth and it made a small twitch with its closed eyes that would make its observers chuckle silly with the faces it was making.

"What's his name?" Queen Lahan asked BinBin.

"We decided ... *sniff* to call him Kakarot, Your Grace," BinBin answered with tears in her eyes.

Raditz turned to their guests. "As Saiyan tradition dictates, friends and family will give their Wish of Blessing to the baby, to ensure it a life of happiness, honor and prosperity. Come, come! Who wants to be first?"

Dodoria walked in. "I'll go!" he laughed and gently got handed the baby from BinBin. "Hey kid, how's it hanging? Letsee ... I wish you to be able to endure any hardship life may throw at you. Persevere and be tough as nails." He handed the baby to Salza.

"I wish you to perform your duty and do your best to those who depend on you. Earn the respect of others and you shall be at peace," the Brench said and handed the boy to Burter.

"Become fast like the wind, little one," the Mutant smiled, "Let speed become your ally and be quick-witted, as well as quick-footed." He handed the boy to Jeice.

"Hey mate!" the white-haired officer smiled at the baby, "I wish you to be awesome! Win everybody with your personality and turn skeptics into believers! Follow those who are worthy and lead those who need guidance!" he handed the boy to Nappa.

"Hey kiddo!" the bald Saiyan laughed, "I wish you to become just as strong as your dad, if not stronger. Be strong in body, but also be strong at heart, for that is where true power lies!"

"Wow, this is ... surprisingly quite deep for you, Nappa," the boy Prince joked.

Nappa chuckled at the young Saiyan Prince, "Aw, Come ON! I read that in a book once! It's true!" the entire room laughed as Nappa handed the child to Prince Vegeta.

"Hey," the Noble boy muttered while cuddling the baby, "You and I have a lot of hard work to do. We both have been blessed with great fathers, and we both have a lot to live up to. I wish you to be the man your father wants you to be, and make him proud. And when you are older, I shall love you and call you my brother. We shall be seeing each other again, mark my words."

"My Prince," BinBin exclaimed choking yet another tear. The boy smiled at the woman and handed the baby to his own mother, Queen Lahan.

"Hello, child," said the beautiful Saiyan Noble while gently stroking the baby's hair, "I wish you to make your mother happy. Never make her cry, never make her worry. Love her as much as she loves you." She then handed the baby to King Vegeta.

"I wish you to become a Legend," he confidently said, "I wish your actions to make such an impact, people will call out your name from all over the Universe. Bring honor to the Saiyan race." he then handed the baby to Cooler.

"... Running out of good wishes," he said prompting the room to chuckle, "Ah, I have one. I wish you to be a good brother and follow your older brother's lead, as he teaches you about your life, your destiny and your heritage." He locked his eyes at his own brother, smiled and continued, "Sometimes you may think you are right and he is wrong, but in the end, remember that he's your big brother who cares about you and wants to help you." Frieza smiled, realizing his brother's point. The Firstborn Arcosian then handed the baby to King Cold.

"I wish you to find within yourself your hidden potential and release it," the Arcosian King smiled, "Whenever despair threatens to come inside you, expel it with newfound power and arise ... stronger than ever." He then handed the baby to Frieza.

"You are Secondborn ... like me," the Arcosian Prince remarked as he gently rubbed his finger to the baby's face, "But I wish you to be first in terms of accomplishments. Be the best that your species can be. I wish you to surpass everyone who wants to stand in your way, any obstacle, any opponent. Through hard work and confidence, I wish you to prevail against all odds, all hardships ... and be at peace, knowing that you did your best ... and succeeded." He was about to hand the baby to Raditz, but he blinked and turned to Appule. "My Octoman friend, you haven't made your wish ..."

Appule grinned comically and took a few steps back, raising his hands up in a placating gesture. "N-No, it's alright My Prince, he got quite a lot of wishes already, it's time for his parents to give theirs ..." in truth however, Appule was terrified to hold the baby, afraid he might drop it or something, having little faith in his skills, even when it meant holding an infant. The Arcosian Prince smiled and shrugged, then offered the baby to Raditz.

"My brother," the long-haired Saiyan smiled, his eyes a bit moist, "I wish your heart to be filled with courage and fire. Never feel fear, never hesitate. Strike hard and true, your beliefs and convictions strong and just. And I will always be there for you, always." He then handed the baby to his mother, BinBin.

The Saiyan woman kissed her baby boy on the forehead, then whispered something to the infant's ear. She held him close to her for a few seconds then handed the baby to Bardock.

The lowborn warrior looked upon his second son and smiled. "My son," he said confidently, "Today you made my heart race more than any battle I ever had. I wish ... I wish that I be a worthy father to you, give you the right examples, the right teachings. So when I look at you over the years ... I'll say to myself what a fine young man you turned out to be. And I'll love you all the more for it."

"Hey guys," Kiwi announced as he walked in with a huge Bone Pearl in his hands, "Hope I'm not late."

"Kiwi!" BinBin shouted happily. The others greeted the Aquafast, as he bowed to the Nobles and nodded at the other officers.

"Here," he said while handing the Bone Pearl to Bardock, "I believe this is yours." The spiky haired Saiyan smiled and gestured his thanks as he took the large orb.

"That's a Rankol Bone Pearl!" Nappa shouted, "You guys killed a Rankol for a tribute to BinBin, eh? Way to go, guys!" Frieza's smile frowned at the bald Saiyan's comment, and walked towards the Aquafast.

"Kiwi," he politely muttered, "Can I talk to you for a second?" the purple alien nodded somewhat concerned and they walked on the other side of the room, making sure they weren't heard.

"Kiwi, have you been cheering on the Saiyans on Rankol hunts?" he asked in a patronizing and concerned manner, "I've expressly stated, time and again, that this bloody sport should be discouraged for our Saiyan friends ..."

"N-no, my Prince," Kiwi said defensively, trying not to raise his voice, "I haven't! And the Rankol they killed wasn't dangerous - it was tiny, a really small specimen of its race -" Nappa's shouting on the other side of the room cut him off.

"This is the biggest Bone Pearl I've ever seen ..." he gasped holding the orb, "The Rankol you guys killed must've been huge, gargantuan even! THIS IS AMAZING!"

Frieza turned his head from Nappa back to Kiwi with a sad and disappointed look on his face. The Aquafast simply grinned innocently and placed his hand behind his head. Before the Arcosian could speak however, there was a beep on his scouter.

"Yes, Malaka?" he asked after placing his index finger on the scouter's comm button.

"Your Grace, there is a matter that needs your attention," the Vrock's voice informed him from the headset, "Please find me at the laboratory."

* * *

**Location: The Crystal Angel, Space Pod Shuttle Bay**

A few hours had passed since Bardock and his family had received the visit of their alien friends and allies. BinBin was left with Raditz

Bardock was walking with baby Kakarot in his arms soundly sleeping. He wouldn't stop talking about things to the sleeping infant. He would tell him about the Saiyan Race, how their Arcosian friends lifted them to new heights and helped them prosper, as well as space itself, as they were walking near the glass windows.

"And here," the spiky haired Saiyan told his son, "this is the Space Pod Shuttle Bay. This is where daddy goes when he has to leave or return to our Planet. You want to see our planet Kakarot? Yeah, yeah you do. Once a couple of days pass and the docs say you're alright, we're going to enter one of these pods, and we're going to walk the surface of our planet. You'll love it there, the brown landscapes, the crimson mountains and the neon-blue sky ... sometimes stars are falling like the fireballs of our ancient heroes. You'll see all that ... and then some. And when you're older you're going to have your own adventures - maybe even fight alongside Prince Frieza himself in order to free and help those who cannot help themselves ... my Saiyan Warrior."

He raised his head and noticed that Zarbon and Appule where in the other side of the Shuttle Bay, so he walked towards them.

Zarbon was typing something on the controls console, while Appule was on the far end of the room, looking at some readings.

"How about now?" Zarbon shouted.

"Nah, nothing, whatever you do isn't working!," the Octoman offered, "Did you try rebooting the servers?"

"I did, old friend," the Omorfolian replied, "I think the previous technician must have messed up the original programming. Urgh, this is *so* ruining my evening ..."

"Hey, Zarbon. What's up?" Bardock greeted as he walked close to him.

"Oh, hey Bard-" the light-blue skinned alien opened his eyes in surprise, "Is that ... ? Congratulations, my friend! Sorry I didn't visit you and BinBin in the nursery yet - I've been busy with Malaka's autopsies and now *this* thing ..." his last three words carried some frustration.

"Yeah, our King told me about it as he left the Nursery. What happened?" the lowborn inquired.

"Well, Prince Frieza no doubt has informed King Vegeta by now that the attackers ... were, or were created by, Tuffles," reported the green haired alien.

"No way! How?" Bardock snapped.

"No idea, but I'm sure our leaders will get to the bottom of this," he replied as he kept tampering with the controls.

"So ... what's this other thing you're busy with?" he asked while eyeing at Zarbon with eyes wide open.

"Something happened to the Launch controls of the Space Pods after the last power outage we had," the Omorfolian explained, "They've completely shut down, and I can't seem to make them power up again. Checked the fuses, checked the panel ... nothing wrong there."

"Did you check the power generator itself?" Bardock offered. "Maybe it has a crack on its bottom like the one some months ago on the Navigation Room."

Zarbon looked at him, and gave the suggestion some thought. "You know what? Maybe you're right. Feel ready for some lifting?" he chuckled.

"Yeah, gimme a sec," he said and walked towards the Space Pods. All of them were deactivated and their hatches were open. He placed the sleeping baby inside one's comfy seat. "Hang in there son, daddy's gonna lift something and I'll be right back." He walked towards Zarbon who had already went to the other side of the room and pressed a button to open a large door which exposed the Bay's huge generator.

"Appule," Zarbon shouted, "Get over here and be ready to crouch under the generator once me and Bardock have lifted it."

"Kay!" the Octoman shouted and ran towards them. The Omorfonian turned to the spiky-haired warrior and smirked.

"Ready?" the handsome alien asked the Saiyan. His friend nodded while they grabbed the generator on opposite sides and both of them took a few deep breaths. "Okay, one ... two ... three - LIFT! Unnnngh!"

A deep sound of heavy metals clanging to each other was heard, and the generator was lifted above the ground, enough for a middle-sized humanoid to crawl through. "Okay ... Appule, do your thing ..." Zarbon grunted.

His friend dropped down and crawled inside the opening. "Don't let go guys ..." he chuckled. Both warriors patiently kept holding the incredibly large and heavy generator as the Octoman was inspecting the bottom circuits for any damage.

Suddenly, a large humming sound faded out, and the lights went all dark. "Ah, crap ... " Zarbon cursed, "Yet ANOTHER power outage ..."

"This thing's ... happening often, then?" Bardock remarked.

"Yeah ... Malaka's looking into that as well," the Omorfonian responded.

"Guys ... can't see a thing now," Appule complained under them.

"Hang on, old friend ..." the Officer replied, "Power's gonna come back right ... about ... now!"

The humming returned and the lights went back on. Zarbon smiled to Bardock and he returned the favor, but their smiles half-frowned as they heard the Shuttle Bay's Computer's voice.

"Space Pod Configuration currently malfunctioned. Rebooting systems and erasing all configuration data. Checking ... Space Pod Auto Pilot Programming corrupted. Free Manual Control activated. Ejecting all Space Pods simultaneously with manual controls activated." All twenty Space Pods that were in the room closed their hatches and their engines started roaring. Across the Pods on the other side on the room, twenty holes opened, large enough for a pod to fly through. A thick energy membrane on each one prevented the air from getting out of the ship.

Bardock's eyes opened wide. "D-did it say eject - "

At the next second, all twenty Space Pods got launched into their respective holes. And left the ship at ramming speed.

"KAKAROT!" Bardock screamed and was about to let go, but Zarbon's voice hold him back.

"Wait! Appule's below - APPULE! GET OUT OF THERE, NOW!"

As fast as he could, the Octoman crawled out of the generator, to what Bardock seemed like centuries. They immediately let the generator go and all three flew out of the holes as well.

"This is Zarbon!" the Omorfolian shouted on his scouter's comm link as they flew towards the pods, who had already achieved tremendous speed, "We have multiple malfunctioning Space Pods ejecting the Crystal Angel at escape velocity in various directions! We need high-powered personnel to retrieve them! Recover the Space Pods but do *not* destroy! A Saiyan infant is aboard one of them - I repeat, do *not* destroy - a Saiyan infant is aboard one of them!"

All able-bodied personnel heard that message, including high-ranking PCO officers, the Saiyan Royal Family and the Arcosian commanders.

Multiple officers flew out of Prince Frieza's battleship like blazing stars, each tracking a different Space Pod. While at the beginning it would appear the pods all left at the same direction, a subtle variation on each one's trajectory now was causing the pods to go farther and farther away from each other.

On the Crystal Angel's Navigation Room, Prince Vegeta, Queen Lahan and Malaka were monitoring transmissions and visual data from the pods and the Officers' scouters as well.

"Twenty pods?" Queen Lahan gasped, "But there are many stations and ships all around us ... if the pods ram any of them ..."

"They'll intercept them, my Lady," the vulture-headed scientist assured her, "Your husband as well as our King have also gone out to retrieve them. Everything will be alright." They all turned around at the door opening, BinBin entering the room. "Mrs Bardock, you ... you should be in bed! You're in no condition to walk around like this!" the Vrock shouted.

"Whose baby is the one on the pod?" she asked pleadingly at her Queen. Lahan hesitated to answer. "Is it ... is it mine?" No one replied. "Oh Gods ... " she turned around and walked as far as she could, but the pain after her just giving birth was too much, and she was forced to hold herself at the door's entrance.

"BinBin ... " Lahan muttered as she walked to her friend and calmly held her to her arms. "We'll save him ... I promise."

BinBin cried at her Queen's shoulder.

* * *

Cooler and King Vegeta were on course to one pod who had been pulled by Planet Plant's gravitational field and was beginning to enter its atmosphere.

"The Pod is running on manual mode and will probably not decelerate as it reaches the planet's surface! It will ram it like a meteor! We must do something! But if this is the one who carries Bardock's son ..."

"We can't blast it, else the child will die ... I'll try changing its course ..." the Arcosian said and flew closer to the Pod. A ball of flame created by the penetration of the planet's atmosphere had enveloped the craft making it impossible to see if there was someone inside.

The Firstborn grabbed the Pod and tried to stop its course, but the minute he would begin to use force, he could hear the Pod's walls moaning. His body was enveloped in flames, but he was strong enough to take it, albeit with a large dose of discomfort.

"Are you doing it!?" King Vegeta shouted.

"No!" Cooler shouted back, "I'm strong enough - but the ship isn't! If I try to change its course it will rip itself apart - the gravitational field is too strong ... unless ... I have an idea! Vegeta, gain some distance and get behind me! Then fire multiple low-powered ki bursts directly at me - this will create a dead zone between the planet's gravity and myself, and I'll be able to move the Pod away!"

"You sure? This will hurt you a lot!" the Saiyan shouted.

"I'll be fine - now let's get to it!"

The Saiyan Noble obliged and arranged himself about twenty feet behind Cooler, both of them flying towards the planet, but both of them having their backs turned to Planet Plant. Vegeta could feel his cape burning to shreds as they getting closer to the atmospheric layers. Narrowing his eyes, he began to fire multiple low-level ki bursts, used more like telekinetic pillows, lowering the hold the planet's gravity had on the Pod and Cooler.

The Arcosian felt the effects and ignored the pain the Saiyan was hitting him with, and slowly retried to push the Pod away from the planet's gravitational field.

And little by little, the speed of the pod lessened and lessened. After a while, Cooler began to envelop the Pod on his own kinetic aura, and started moving it away from the planet.

"We got one!" Cooler shouted to his scouter.

"Excellent work, Sire!" Malaka praised the Arcosian and turned to the two Saiyan women with the boy Prince next to them, "Seven Pods have already been accounted for - counting Prince Cooler's and King Vegeta's, only thirteen remaining. Unfortunately, the Saiyan infant is still on the missing ones ..." BinBin sighed with concern and Queen Lahan firmly held her friend's hand.

* * *

Frieza had already intercepted two Pods - which he quickly blew up after checking that the baby wasn't in any one of them, and he was going for the third one ... but this time, he wasn't fast enough. From the far end of space, he saw the pod crashing into the left portside of a space shuttle. "NO!" he screamed in despair as he saw many small explosions occurring throughout the ship, its destruction imminent. Flying as fast as he could, the Secondborn rushed at the ship and saw various crewmates flying out of it ... but the large craft was about to explode and the blast radius would certainly kill the crew - almost none of them were combatants.

Finally close enough to act, the Acrosian lashed out both hands and shielded every single crewmate in telekinetic shield bubbles, making sure they would survive the explosion. The crew saw their savior and cheered at him but after a while they stopped and started pointing behind the Arcosian and screamed various warnings. One word was mostly heard.

"Reaper!"

The First-Formed Prince barely turned his head around in time to catch a glimpse of a large dark silhouette gliding towards him, a huge open maw threatening to devour him and two blood-red circles - the only strikingly visible part of the monster in contrast to it's entire body - serving as its eyes. He dashed to the side and evaded the beast, which circled around him, readying for another attack.

If space was a sea, then the Reaper was its shark. A huge and many feet long animal, its thick skin colored jet-black like the darkest night, resembling an aquatic predator able to breathe and survive in the vacuum, the Reapers were ancient wild animals, as old as Time itself, preying on debris, asteroids with minerals, and occasionally other organic beings which also thrived in space. The lights of civilization as well as vibrations could sometimes attract them to search for a potential meal and the explosion of the pod ramming the shuttle nearby was more than enough to make the animal go and investigate.

The Arcosian laid his options. With his powers busy at keeping the crew safe from the explosion (and the Reaper itself afterwards, should the blast occur), he was handicapped but not helpless. He aimed at the beast and used his eye beams to inflict enough pain so that it would flee. But the Reaper was not unaccustomed to meals who would fight back and simply glided sideways, sensing the heat of the beam and the threat to its body.

"Dammit," Frieza spat at his missed opportunity to end this, while he also felt the predator closing in for another shot. While it was very difficult to make out the monster, being as dark as space and all, thankfully his scouter was more than enough to pinpoint its location. He evaded yet another bite as he dashed aside, but this time he was knocked away by a whip of the beast's tail.

Refusing to let go of his telekinetic shields on the crewmates, the Arcosian waited for the chance to use his eye beams again - but his handicap was crippling his aim, making him miss another shot at the elusive and dexterous monster. And he could feel his fingers go numb from the pressure which was slowly building after maintaining his telekinetic grip for so long.

Suddenly a huge explosion occurred, signaling the destruction of the shuttle. This was not for the Prince's benefit however. The blast radius engulfed all the telekinetic shields Frieza had put up and he could feel the pressure on every single one building up at a head-pounding concert of pain and discomfort. He maintained the telekinetic grip, but lost his focus on his adversary who seemed to take full advantage of the Arcosian's staggering and charged, this time for a sure-to-hit bite.

Before he could chew on the Secondborn however, the beast was kicked away by a PCO Officer's thrusting double kick. Denying the beast the chance to orient itself, the purple skinned Mutant fired a barrage of ki blasts which burned its skin and caused it to growl in pain. Focusing now on the more dangerous opponent, the Reaper began to circle the Mutant.

The Officer however, unlike Frieza, was not handicapped in any way and could freely fight the beast. Firing another volley of ki blasts, he forced the animal to maneuver to its right. And that was the exact maneuver the Officer wanted the monster to make. Charging his fist with raw, primal power, the Mutant charged the wounded animal and literally punched it to the jaw, making its rubbery body pulsate as it absorbed the force of the hit in its entire body.

Having been greatly wounded and realizing that some meals are worth far less trouble than others, the beast forced itself into a retreat. The Arcosian recognized the Officer who came to his aid - he was Ginyu, one of King Cold's best Officers, who lost by an inch a position at the King's Elite Battalion called the Snow Pincers.

"Are you alright, Your Grace?" the Mutant asked concerned.

"Pretty well, now that you're here," the Arcosian replied as the Reaper was gliding away, his signature moving farther and farther away on Frieza's scouter. The sudden attack of Ginyu probably dishearted the beast. Finally relaxing his telekinetic hold on the crew, the two of them flew towards the Pod's wreckage. There was nothing which could indicate there was a baby inside once. Frieza sighed and touched the comm button on his scouter.

"Got two, but lost one," he bitterly reported, "No body found, but ..." he left the sentence hang in the air.

"Understood, Your Grace," Malaka's voice replied, "We have intercepted 18 of the Pods - Recoom and Nappa lost one as well and two more are being intercepted by Zarbon, Appule and Bardock."

"Alright, let's hope they'll make it ... and that the child is inside one of the last two," he concluded and turned to Ginyu. "Thank you for your help."

"You risked your life for all these crewmates, my lord," replied the Mutant, "It was the least I could do."

Back at the Monitor Room the atmosphere was tense, at best. While the four aliens would sigh in relief every time a Pod was intercepted, they would get more stressed once they would be told that Kakarot wasn't on board on the latest one either. BinBin was feeling so weak and nervous she was about to faint while the Queen was doing her best to comfort her friend. Malaka was on all frequencies, trying to acquire all the data that he could as soon as possible. The boy walked next to Malaka, who would let sigh after sigh.

"What is it?" he asked the avian scientist.

Without turning to look at the boy, the vulture scientist replied, "The last two Pods."

"What about them?" persisted the Prince.

"... they're headed towards Fol. The Star System's sun."

* * *

Zarbon, Appule and Bardock were chasing the last two Pods who were now approaching an asteroid belt and thousand of miles farther across, the Fol sun itself.

"C'mon, dammit!" Bardock shouted, "We must do this! My son's in one of those, I'm sure of it!" Not only the three heroes had to stress themselves to match the sound-breaking speed of the Pods, they also had to target approaching asteroids from hitting the Pods as well as themselves.

"Blast it! No rotten rocks shall prevent me from saving my SON!" the Saiyan growled as he blasted a couple of asteroids which were nearing the Pod to the left.

"Is it me or is it getting warmer?" Appule shouted, "I mean, A LOT warmer?"

"It's not you, old friend!" Zarbon yelled, "We're approaching Fol, the system's very own sun ... which means we - HAAH! -" he shouted as he blasted an asteroid, "We're running out of time!"

Bardock roared and flared with an impossibly large aura as he approached the closest of the two Pods ... he flew closer and closer ... his son, almost at his grasp.

His veins bulging out of the herculean effort as he blasted two more asteroids, and finally grabbed the Pod, attaching himself to it.

"YEAH!" he shouted and as quickly as he could, crawled to the side taking care not to let go of the Pod, in order to see the passenger through the glass window. His eyes opened wide. It was empty.

"Zarbon!" he yelled to the Omorfolian as he looked behind his shoulder, "It's empty! My son's on the other-"

"BARDOCK!" Zarbon shouted but it was too late to warn his friend as an asteroid rammed through the Pod, shuttering it to pieces and creating a blast which enveloped the lowborn warrior. Zarbon immediately changed his course and went to recover his friend, as Appule kept following the last Pod.

"Bardock! Bardock!" Zarbon shouted as he examined his friend, now levitating in space and trying to discern whether or not his old comrade was badly injured.

"Z-Zarbon ... cough ... my son ... my -cough- my son ... go after him ... please!" he muttered as he grabbed the Omorfolian by the shoulder. Zarbon gulped as he saw blood dripping from all over his friend's body. He was heavily injured, had major burns and quite a few bones must have been broken.

"Zarbon, how is he?!" Appule transmitted through his scouter.

"He's badly hurt, Appule!" Zarbon replied, "I have to take him back to the Angel otherwise he won't make it ... it's up to you, now!"

Silence followed Zarbon's transmission. "... Yeah ... Yeah, I gotcha!" the Octoman transmitted with as much confidence as he could muster.

* * *

Back in the Monitor Room, almost everyone who was sent to retrieve the Pods had made it back and were all listening to what was happening. With the second last Pod being empty, everyone's hopes were now riding on the one Appule was chasing. BinBin gasped in agony when she heard that Bardock was injured, but the others calmed her down when they told her Zarbon was bringing him back. Suddenly, the screens went blank.

"What happened?" Cooler asked, "Why did we lose the feed?"

"The Pod has escaped the reach of our view satellite cams," explained Malaka, "The only feedback we can now get is through Appule's audio transmissions of his scouter ... and our readings on the Pod's temperature, shields, and hull damage percentage."

"Zarbon, you there?" Frieza inquired through his scouter's comm link.

"My Liege," the Omorfolian responded, "I am returning with Bardock ... I will be with you in a few minutes."

"_There's no way anyone can reach Appule and the Pod in time ..._ " the Arcosian thought to himself, "_I just pray that the child is in the last Pod ... and that Appule can stop it before something terrible happens .._."

"Appule, save my baby, please!" BinBin pleaded over Queen Lahan's scouter.

* * *

Appule was flying like a maniac, pushing himself to his very limits, and little by little, he lessened the distance between him and the Pod which was headed straight into the sun. He could feel the heat increasing every second. First it was welcoming, then it became distracting, afterwards it became annoying and following that ... it became intrusive. And now, second after second, it was beginning to become ... painful.

But he wouldn't give up. He would save this child. Even if it was the last thing he would do ... he would save this child.

On the plus side, they finally moved out of the asteroid field, so now he could accelerate easier, and didn't have to face anymore distractions. The Pod became larger and larger ... second after second, closer to his reach. The soldier narrowed his eyes in a heroic effort and used his already depleting reserves of strength and stamina to reach the round craft. Until finally, he could almost grab it. The scorching heat almost seemed inconsequential now, he was so close ... so close ... he reached out his hand ... and grabbed the Pod.

"I DID IT!" he shouted in such triumph the speakers on everyone's scouters back in the Monitor Room screeched. He secured his grip on the back of the Pod and clamped on to the ship, making sure he wouldn't let go.

"Bravo Appule!" Dodoria shouted, with everyone else cheering.

"Appule, is my baby inside?!" BinBin shouted and made everyone go silent again.

The Octoman slowly crawled around the Pod, trying to catch a glimpse of the Saiyan baby. He didn't dare go faster, he couldn't risk letting go of the craft. His eyes fell on the glass window and the tiny passenger within.

"The child is inside!" he shouted and made everyone gasp in relief that Kakarot wasn't inside of any of the blown up Pods ... but then an even more horrifying realization arose ... if the Octoman couldn't pull this off ... the child wouldn't survive.

Appule flared with energy and began to push against the Pod's momentum, trying to change its course. But the toll of his previous excessive effort was finally catching up to him and he felt his strength waning ... his stamina, almost depleted.

"Move ... move, damn you!" he shouted in defiance as he pushed the Pod away from the sun ... to no avail. The force of the craft was too large ... Appule too weak ... and too exhausted.

"Sire, the Pod's temperature is rising and is shield's are beginning to lower themselves ... the Pod is beginning to take damage from the sun's heat and radiation," Malaka lamented. King Cold sighed.

At that moment, Zarbon entered with Bardock leaning on to him. "What are you doing here?" shouted King Vegeta, "Take him to the medical bay immediately!"

"I won't ... won't sit on a stretcher while my son's life ... is in danger," Bardock stuttered, "I need to know he's going ... to be alright."

Appule was trying his best to move the Pod away but it was all for naught. He just couldn't do it. He clenched his fists and cursed his weakness. Still, he refused to give up and gave it another effort.

"Appule, do you read me?" King Cold transmitted.

"Little busy now ... Your Grace," Appule shouted as he pushed the Pod with all his remaining strength. "_Can't do it ... dammit all ... can't do it ..._"

King Vegeta looked at Bardock and BinBin, then at his Arcosian mentors. "Your Grace," he addressed King Cold in a heavy voice, "tell him to go back." Everyone looked at the Saiyan King. Cold offered no response. He just looked at Vegeta.

"He can't save the child," the bearded Saiyan explained, "If he keeps doing that, he'll perish along with the baby. Don't let him throw his life away." He then turned to Bardock, his eyes full of remorse. "I'm sorry, my friend." Bardock eyes opened wide with sorrow and despair, but deep in his heart, he knew his King was speaking the truth. His son was apparently a lost cause. They tried their best, and they failed.

Dodoria clenched his fists and shouted in frustration. "DAMMIT!"

King Cold hesitantly pressed his scouter's com button. "Appule ... I want you to abort the mission."

"Sire ... ?" the Octoman muttered.

"You can't save him, my boy ... you did your best and that's praiseworthy ... but it's time to let go before you perish in your effort." the Arcosian's words were heavy. BinBin whimpered behind him.

Appule, for his part, looked at the baby behind the glass. Its tiny eyes closed, sleeping, oblivious to its imminent doom. So innocent, so helpless. The alien narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth. "No, Your Grace."

"Appule ... ?" King Cold asked while slowly raising his head.

"... If the Saiyan baby dies, I die with it," the soldier declared, "I may have been a low soldier, I may not have been successful on most missions I went with our officers, I may not be as strong as most of your troops ... but by the Gods, I am going to do something right in my life!"

"Appule ..." Bardock muttered, choking a tear.

Cooler turned around to everyone inside the room. "There must be some way we can help him, some ... some kind of code we can give the pod to change its course ... ?"

Malaka's eyes opened wide as his memory served him remembering a small talk between two engineers of the ship. "That's it!" he shouted, "Appule, listen to me! There is a manual override panel on the pod, either on its left or right side - look for a schism you can insert your fingers into and pull out a thin metal plate! Inside should be a small console which will allow you to transmit different coordinates and take the pod away from the sun! Press the big green button once to cancel the flight, then re-input coordinates for Planet Plant and press the green button again!"

"... Right!" Appule shouted as he again began to crawl to the left side of the pod, his back assaulted by the scorching heat. His strength was at it limits, even moving was now a tremendous strain. Sweat was dripping all over his body, his flesh hurt as if he was cut by a thousand knives and his vision was beginning to get blurry.

Finally, he reached the left side of the pod. He looked around for a schism, but the pod was shaking too much, forcing him to slowly grope the metal plates of the pod to make sure he wouldn't miss the tiny slot he could put his fingers into to take out the panel.

Suddenly, he felt little crackling sounds coming out of his scouter. Before he could react, the glass monocle smashed into tiny pieces, getting inside his left eye. Appule screamed in pain as the bits of glass cut his now shut eye, forcing blood to rapidly drip out. But despite the pain, despite the exhaustion ... he refused to let go.

"Appule!" Zarbon snapped as he heard his friend's scream, "Are you all right!? What happened!?"

"Z ... Zarbon ...!" the Octoman shouted, his voice a mixture of despair and agony. While the monocle broke, the rest of the device was still attached to his ear.

"I'm here, Appule," the Omorfolian replied, his voice full of concern about his friend.

"Can't ... can't see ..." the Octoman muttered.

Zarbon's eyes narrowed in sadness, unable to figure out what to say which would help his friend at this point. Both lives hanged by a thread.

"The pod's temperature is rising faster ...!" Malaka remarked, "In a few seconds it's ... it's going to be enveloped in flames!"

BinBin closed her eyes and covered her mouth, as the others shared concerned looks.

Appule, now blind, finally realized the slot must have been on the other side. He slowly began to crawl in a circle, going to the back of the pod in order to spare himself the heat from the front. But the metal itself was now burning to the touch - his gloves had almost melted away, and his own palms were being sizzled whenever he would touch the metal.

Finally making the trip, exhausted by the heat and the pain, he slowly began to grope the metal surface, praying he would actually find it this time. Suddenly he felt his scouter burning his skull - the metal was sizzling in his flesh and caused him to scream in pain. Making a sudden swing of his head, the broken device was thrown into space where it melted at its leisure.

Malaka slowly turned his head to the others. "We've lost the transmission of Appule's scouter ..."

"The pod?" Frieza asked.

"Still on course with the sun ... I have no idea if he is even alive now." the vulture headed scientist grimly reported.

The Octoman kept searching with his burnt hand when ... he could feel it! A tiny schism on the pod, enough for his fingers to squeeze in. He pushed them as far inside as he could then with all his remaining strength, pull out the panel, exposing the console.

He hastily searched the console with his fingers, trying to find a button bigger than the others, which would probably be the green one Malaka mentioned. He felt one round one, far bigger than the others. He slammed it and he felt the turbines of the Pod go less strong.

The Pod computer began to speak, although most words were barely audible due to the roaring sounds of the approaching sun and the speed of the craft. "Manual Override activated. Old destination erased. Please input new destination."

Before Appule could do so, the entire pod got engulfed in flames, enveloping his own body as well. He screamed as the scorching heat slowly began to melt his body. The pod had finally reached the sun close enough to deteriorate its hull.

Blind, burning and near death, Appule was in no condition to input the coordinates which would return the Pod to its mothership. With trembling hands, he started pressing buttons at random, creating a destination on the fly, any other destination except the one the ship was currently on.

"_This is my wish to you, little Kakarot ._.." the Octoman thought as he kept pressing the buttons at random, "_Live. Live for the both of us and survive_." With a final slam on the large button, the Pod's computer again spoke, the voice distorted by the damaged speakers.

"Destination confirmed. Changing course."

The Pod began making a turn about 90 degrees wide and flew to the left. And Appule, his strength finally failing him, gently let go of the Pod as his body got engulfed by the flames. His floating body's color changed to orange, then red, then deep brown ... until it grew a pitch black color, burning ... and burning ...

Until it was gone.

* * *

Back in the Monitor Room, there was complete silence. Malaka suddenly looked at the others. "We lost transmission with the Pod ... but ... in the last five seconds ... I could've sworn the Pod changed its course. The coordinates seemed to indicate it made a maneuver to the left ... but I can't be sure."

"He's alive ..." Raditz muttered. "I'm sure of it, my brother's alive ... Appule must've done it."

"My baby ... all alone ... " BinBin finally broke down in tears and slammed her fist on the floor. Lahan went to comfort her but the grieving mother gestured her queen to stay away. She slowly got up and walked next to Bardock, who was staring at the space.

"Why ...?" she whimpered, "Why did you leave him inside the Pod?"

"I ... I just -" Bardock's response was cut off by a slap in the face. BinBin grimaced in sorrow and walked away.

"... Kiwi, take Bardock to the infirmary," Frieza commanded and looked at his father who was in turn looking at the spiky-haired Saiyan.

Zarbon slowly walked to the avian scientist. "... Appule?" he asked. The short creature looked at his officer then slowly shook his head 'no'. The Omorfolian walked to the other side of the room, placed his back on the wall, and slowly slided downwards until he sat on the floor.

_Zarbon's wounds were too great. He had finally managed to take out that gargantuan mech the Tuffles had let loose on the battlefield, but his arm was broken steel talons had penetrated his flesh and he could feel his life sipping away. At least with one of those three monsters destroyed, the rest of the Saiyan and Arcosian forces would be enough to prevail in one of the biggest fights in this war._

_Lying on the ground, his body half buried by the Mech's dead claw, Zarbon began to feel his eyes close. Suddenly, a PCO trooper appeared before him._

_"You're still alive!" He shouted, "Hold on, I'll get you out of there!"_

_"No ... no," Zarbon muttered, "I won't make it ... get to the others and fight the Tuffles ..."_

_"I'm not leaving you," the short purple soldier smiled, and grunted as he lifted the Mech's claw, "NNNGH!" he yelled and moved it aside, freeing Zarbon. "Hey ... you managed to take out that thing by yourself? You're really something! Now, hang on ... I'll carry you to our medics!"_

_"... thank you," the officer calmly said._

_"No problem," the soldier replied as he gave him a thumbs up, "Name's Appule, by the way!"_

The Omorfolian buried his face between his legs and closed his eyes as two tears ran down his cheeks.

* * *

**Earth Date: Age 738, March 3rd**

**Location: Planet Earth, uncharted woods**

A stag quietly and cautiously walked towards a small pond, lowering its head in order to drink and quench its thirst. Suddenly its ears flipped and the animal raised its head. A low rumble could be heard far up in the sky. A ball of fire appeared and the stag quickly ran as it heard the object coming closer and closer.

The Pod shattered tree after tree as it crudely crash landed, leaving behind it a trail of destroyed wildlife. The door opened with steam and smoke permeating the area around. The craft laid still and silent. A couple of infant sounds were heard inside, but other than that ... nothing.

A few minutes later, heavy footsteps were heard and the rustling of leaves was heard to the right of the Pod. A huge figure emerged from the bushes. A true monster of a creature, the humanoid beast had green scaly skin and its head resembled a peculiar cross between a goblin and a frog. Its body was inhumanly thin, but its muscles gave it a lean, athletic figure instead of just an underfed individual. The creature wore a pair of black pants with a red shirt knotted like a belt around its belly.

The demon-like monster walked towards the smoking Pod, its claws ready to rip to shreds any threat which could appear from within the craft. It was curious about the object, but cautious as well. This was unlike anything he had ever seen since he hatched from his egg.

He walked in front of the Pod and gazed upon the passenger seat. He saw a small baby with a monkey's tail looking at him innocently and giving the monster a happy smile. The beast in return grinned and licked its lips.

"Father," he growled, "I thank you for this morsel. I shall end its life in Your Name and sacrifice it in Your Honor." He reached out to grab the baby but immediately stopped. The monster felt a presence and quickly turned around.

Across him stood an elder human wearing a sleeveless orange jacket over a long sleeved black shirt, had a bushy white moustache and small dark eyes. A small green hat completed the attire. The shadows of the trees around him seemed to dance, obstructing the demon from having a clear view at the human.

"What do you want?" the demon growled, "You can't have the baby, it's mine."

"I don't care about the baby," the old man replied with creepy confidence. "I want you."

"Me?" the monster asked puzzled. "What do you want a servant of Daimao for?"

"Fight me," the old man commanded and took a battle stance. The monster narrowed its eyes, but hesitated. Most humans would either cheer him or fall on their knees when they would gaze upon a servant of the Demon King, but receiving an actual challenge? It seemed ... surreal.

"Fool, FIGHT OR DIE!" the old man screamed and charged at the monster. He could feel the aura of the demon, he could feel his power. Perhaps he was the one. Perhaps he would give him what his heart desired most.

His Death Match.

**End of Chapter 02.**

* * *

**The second chapter is over and now Earth is finally revealed in the story. Apparently Appule's random combination actually worked. But will the Saiyan baby live, or will it perish on this planet, a planet filled with murder-happy humans and evil worshippers? And what will the Arcosian Empire will be doing as time passes by on Earth?**

* * *

**CURRENT TIERS [Arcosian Campaign]:**

**God Tier**: King Cold (2nd Form)

**Top Tier**: Cooler (1st Form), Frieza (1st Form), Gyunak

**Middle Tier**: Frozenback, BuhRocol, Ginyu, Jovom, Salza, Neiz, Recoom, Dore, Burter, Jeice, Android Invader (Great Merge)

**Low Tier**: Zarbon (Base), Dodoria, Kiwi, King Vegeta, Queen Lahan, Android Invader (Merge)

**Weak Tier**: Nappa, Bardock, Raditz, BinBin, Android Invader (Base)

**Weakest Tier**: Hatchiyack (1%), Guldo.

* * *

**CURRENT TIERS [Earthling Campaign]:**

**God Tier**: Piccolo Daimao (old)

**Top Tier**: -

**Middle Tier**: -

**Low Tier**: -

**Weak Tier**: Grandpa Gohan, Guitar (Daimao Spawn)

**Weakest Tier**: -

Now on to the mail.

* * *

**Captain Space:** Love it! This idea's really original, and some of the villains (like the Ginyu Force) have plenty of character left once you remove 'evil' without having to even change much, unlike, say, Frieza, who I imagine took some more changing. Some minor issues with the grammar, occasionally a phrase seems slightly odd or out of place, but whatever, as I said, minor. Wait...what's Hatchiyack doing on the power tier list?! Hope we don't spend too long in this 'setup' bit, but I trust you. I'm sure however long it is, it's because it needs to be told that way. Well, definitely looking forwards to more, anyway!

**Me**: Wow! My first review is from none other than Captain Space, one of the best writers of this website. An honor! Yeah, grammar and syntax are my worst foes, considering I'm not a native English speaker and all... Hatchiyack? Well, that's what I get for splitting my first chapter and not taking out a spoiler! XD As for the Arcosian empire arc, it's going to go on for a long, long time, but Planet Earth is going to get the same amount of 'screen time' as well. Thank you for your feedback, Space! I appreciate it!

**Super Vegetarott:** I've said it before and I'll say it again: the concept of this story is really unique and has never really been executed before to my knowledge. It's refreshing to see a story where I can root for some of my favorite villains, but at the same time I feel like you need to ensure that the characters keep their personalities. By that, I mean even though Bulma is(more likely or not) going to be a villain in the story, you should try and keep her qualities about her - otherwise, this is just a pointless role reversal intending to give the villains some use. The same goes for the heroes, such as Frieza or Cooler - the former should still have a superiority complex of some kind, while the latter should still be rather pragmatic. A story about a bunch of do-gooders isn't fun to read, which is why it's extremely important to vary up your characters' personalities in order to create deep, meaningful interactions. Despite my criticism, I really am enjoying the concept behind this story, and I'm sure it'll be even greater as you continue onwards.

**Me:** Thanks for the review Rott! Your criticism is valid and is one of my biggest challenges in this story. I intend to keep the traits of the characters to an extent, and those which don't work, are simply reversed. For example: Frieza's obsession with the Saiyans destruction and his fear of them is now translated into obsession of caring about them and be paranoid about their safety. King Cold still considers the Arcosians superior to other races, but as a result, he considers it his duty and obligation to help them prosper and free them from Tyrants instead of enslaving them himself. The Tuffles fought the Saiyans not for survival, but for conquest. Yamcha will still be a bandit when he appears, but of a Robin Hood type who steals from the rich to give to the poor. And so on, and so on. Trust me, I am really aware of the trap I can easily fall into, and I'll try my darnest not to. Thank you for reading the story.

**FinalFlashX**: It's a little strange to read this story, because of how odd is to see people like Frieza saying stuff like his "beloved brother Cooler" and stuff like that. Or Saiyan's actually being very attached to their familys and what not. And Cui/Kiwi just BEING in a story lol.

That being said, this story was EXTREMELY engaging as it breathes a little fresh air into the fandom. I was extremely entertained about reading about how the differences in everyone's history and character's as they are now apart of the PCO instead of the PTO. I really enjoyed the very elaborate history and background you gave to the Cold Family and the rest of their empire in how they are now liberators and exactly how this new organization works. Also, the plot was instantly griping with the appearance of these metal warriors (I'm assuming they're from the evil Tuffles) and how you have the Good Ginyu Force meeting together for the very first time was an extremely nice touch. Besides for a few awkwardly phrased sentences, which you get somewhat of a pass on since English isn't your first language, this chapter was extremely enjoyable to read. I can't wait to see where the rest of the story goes and to see how you handle the rest of the DBZ cast as you show them as their "Reflection" selves. It will no doubt be extremely entertaining.

If you would like a little more detail about some of the grammar mistakes that you made, feel free to PM me and I'll look through the chapter and note the ones that I thought were somewhat distracting to the reading experience. I would be glad to help you out there. Anyways, great start to the story Nick and you've got a reader in me!

**Me**: Thanks for the input Flash! I take it you're going to try and be a steady reader for this story, since you're here in its inception! :D Anyways, yeah, making a complete reversal on all characters and yet keep some similarities is probably going to be the biggest challenge in this story, I hope I can make it work. It's good to know the first chapter stroke the right cords with you. Thank you for the feedback, and we've talked about the grammar/syntax thingies, thanks again!

**FrostedPurpleIrises91**: I'm liking what you have so far and I hope that you do update soon. I always was a fan of the AU stories where villains end up as the heroes and vice versa and I love what you've set up/done so far. I especially can't wait to see how you'll portray Cell and the androids in your story!

**Me:** Thanks FrostedPurpleIrises! Reflection is my second long project and if everything goes well, it's going to be around for a long, long time. Good to know you liked what you read so far!

**Lord of the weed**: Nice intro. This is very interesting and different from most dbz stories I have read so far, a truly unique concept. I'm curious to see where this is going. Keep up the good work.

**Me**: Thank you kindly. Although the project I'm working the most is the River of Fate, I will try and keep up with this story as well. Hope you stick around for the long haul.

**Ryu no Ohi**: This story is all kinds of weird. I'm not sure I like it yet, but it's probably like eating a weird foreign food that only looks familiar. I will keep chewing & digesting chapters, because if nothing else, it's novel & well-written (except for a few typos - oops!). Okay, first thing I really like is your explanation of Guldo's time-stop ability. That right there is great. Hmm, I'll have to wait for the next chapter to find more things I really like about this story, but you're off to a good start! Kudos to you for doing something so brave by writing a story like this.

**Me**: Yes, Reflection is indeed, a weird place to be, since everything's upside down just because and not because of deep storytelling or explanation. It's an upside down universe, and the reader must roll with it. That isn't to say the plot will be silly, of course - Reflection is going to be as deep as the River of Fate, but the setup is just ... there. Thank you for checking out this story as well!

* * *

**Okay, that's all for now, folks! See you all in Chapter 03: Upbringing Death!**


End file.
